Chapter 3

Heather's POV

"Heather!" Celeste stood in the doorway, her eyes red and her face pale. "Mom had nothing to do with it. I was the one who planned the accident."

Theodore instinctively rushed forward and reached out to cover her mouth. But she shoved his hand away, tears streaming from her reddened eyes.

"Heather, I'm sorry. Back then, when you told me you were coming to see Theodore, I got jealous. I didn't want you interfering with our relationship. But I never expected the brakes to fail. I made a terrible mistake. You can punish me however you want."

Tears streamed down my face as I let out a bitter laugh at the absurdity of it all. "Fine. Then turn yourself in."

No one seemed to have expected me to take things that far. Even Celeste froze.

Just as I pulled out my phone to dial 911, Sara shoved me, her eyes red with anger. "Heather, Celeste had spent three years suffering because she couldn't openly be with the man she loves! And now she's pregnant! Do you really have to take things this far?"

Mom burst into tears and slapped me across the face. "Have you lost your mind? She's your sister! If you want someone arrested, have them arrest me instead!"

My cheek burned from the slap, and tears welled up in my eyes.

Back when Sara's parents had abandoned her during an earthquake simply because they valued sons over daughters, I'd dug through the rubble with my bare hands until all ten of my fingers were broken, just to save her.

That same day, Mom had suffered a brain hemorrhage after being struck by falling rocks. I'd paid 800 thousand dollars for her surgery, while Celeste hadn't contributed a single cent.

Yet this was what I got in return for saving their lives and being their family. They had all turned against me.

Theodore pulled Celeste into his arms, gently rubbing her back to calm her down before turning to glare at me. "Heather, I'm the one who wronged you. If you're angry, take it out on me. Sending Celeste to prison now would be as good as condemning her to death."

I stared at him as tears fell one by one onto the floor. "So you're finally admitting that you're Theodore Vane."

Theodore lowered his gaze, unable to meet my eyes. "Heather, you've always been too controlling, and you can't have children. I need a child of my own. Celeste is your sister. What's yours is hers, isn't it?"

I stood there in a daze, tears still streaming down my face.

After Theodore cut ties with his family, I'd done everything I could to raise the money he needed to start his own company and fulfill his dream.

I'd worked at nightclubs and sung at bars. I'd even taken jobs that required me to drink with customers late into the night, until I suffered stomach bleeding and was fired from five or six different places.

I'd devoted ten years of my life to that man. And in the end, all I got for my sacrifices was to be called controlling.

Worse still, he had the nerve to blame me for being unable to have children.

Hatred burned in my eyes. "And whose fault is it that I can't have children? My baby was six months along! She was so close to being born! What Celeste did was deliberate murder! If I report her to the police, she'll spend the rest of her life behind bars!"

I was sobbing so hard that I could barely get the words out.

Theodore fell silent for a few seconds. "I signed a settlement agreement right after the accident. You can't press charges against her."

I froze, unable to even breathe. No wonder Celeste had been so willing to confess. When Theodore had cried over his failure to protect our baby and me and vowed to make whoever caused the accident pay, he'd already taken care of everything for her.

"I'm not letting this go."

Theodore's expression darkened further. He was about to say something when Celeste suddenly clutched her stomach and began to sob. "Theodore, I... I'm bleeding..."

Nothing else mattered to him anymore. He scooped Celeste into his arms and rushed her to the hospital.

When I got home, I logged into the social media account I'd used back when Theodore and I were deeply in love.

I'd always loved taking photos, but Theodore hated showing his face online. I'd respected his wishes, though his good looks and the photos I'd taken of him from behind had still attracted a huge following.

But the moment I saw the latest posts, my heart felt as though it had been torn to pieces.

My entire feed was filled with photos of Theodore and Celeste, their faces clearly visible, along with pictures of them kissing.

With trembling fingers, I scrolled down.

In the latest post, they'd shared photos of two marriage certificates, both dated May 20.

A dull, relentless ache spread through my chest and lodged in my throat. I burst into laughter, tears streaming down my face until I could barely breathe.

All these years, Celeste hadn't just stolen my life. She'd been using my identity to share their everyday moments online. It turned out that I was the only outsider in this family.

With trembling hands, I wrote a post explaining the truth about everything that had happened.

I'd barely hit publish when Theodore called, his voice tight with anger. "Celeste already apologized to you! You scared her so badly that she started bleeding! What more do you want?"

My eyes stung with tears, and I forced a bitter smile. "She got what she deserved! I lost my baby. I lost my marriage. You people destroyed everything I had! What gives you the right to carry on living as if nothing happened?"

After listening to my anguished outburst, Theodore replied in a voice devoid of warmth. "Heather Ashcroft, you'd better hope you don't regret this."

He hung up.

I then shared my statement across every social media platform.